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Posted on 09/22/2005 3:25:57 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Rita continues to threaten the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. The forecast track has shifted slightly to the northeast, increasing the risk to Southwest Louisiana, and a significant portion of the oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Governor Perry is urging all coastal residents between Beaumont and Corpus Christi to evacuate as soon as possible.
The following links are self-updating:
Public Advisory Currently published every 3 hours 5A, 8A, 11A, 2P, etc. ET
NHC Discussion Published every six hours 6A, 11A, 6P, 11P
Three Day Forecast Track
Five Day Forecast Track
Rita Forecast Track Archive
Forecast Models
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Houston/Galveston/Beaumont/Lake Charles Wx Watches/Warnings
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana
Hi Res Houston Flood Zone Map Slow load, great detail
Images:
Storm Floater IR Loop
GOM WV Loop
GOM IR Still Image
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)
KPRC-TV/DT Houston - KPRC-TV/DT Houston - http://mfile.akamai.com/12944/live/reflector:38616.asx
KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA
Additional Resources:
FReeper Sign In Thread Check in to let us know whether you are staying, going, and when you get there
FReepers Offering Lodging To Rita Evacuees People and/or Pet Friendly FReepers Offering Shelter
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
Beaumont TX evac Routes
Lake Charles/Southwest LA Evacuation Map
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles Evac Routes, news
KFDM Beaumont/Port Arthur News, evac info
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
Galveston Webcams
Golden Triangle Weather Page Provides Galveston Weather, Warnings, Radar, etc.
| Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
| Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
| Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
| Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
| Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
Previous Threads:
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
I'd say France myself (Britain is too good to suffer her).
FWIW - Brother-in-Law left Sugarland (Houston Metro) @ 4am this morning. Wife got him on the cell phone and this was his travel experience:
4am: Leave Sugarland with a full tank
6am: 35 miles of progress
6:01am: Get off I-45 and take back roads.
("non-interstate state highways is probably a better description").
2:15pm about 60 miles south of Dallas, all but the first 35 miles were non-interstate.
Thank you! Is way cool
he's the meteorologist on CNN - http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/marciano.rob.html
Stephanie Abrams joined The Weather Channel® in June of 2003 as an on-camera meteorologist. In addition to her on-air responsibilities for the core network, Ms. Abrams provides on-line video forecasts and weather information for The Weather Channel Interactive. On-line, she delivers local forecasts for more than 75 U.S. cities as well as forecasts related to various activities and interests, such as golf, health and gardening.
Previously, Ms. Abrams was morning meteorologist at WTXL, the ABC affiliate in Tallahassee, FL.
A native of Wellington, FL (near West Palm Beach), she graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Meteorology from Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL. She also earned a B.S. degree in geography from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, where she graduated with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In addition, she has acquired a minor in mathematics.
Ms. Abrams is a member of the American Meteorology Society and was president of the North Florida chapter of the AMS from 2002-2003.
Whoooooa...I'm gonna take early retirement for this storm.
ROFLMAO!
He's probably trying to get Naomi Wolf on the phone so he can find out where Al Gore got that pancake spray for his face!
AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
You, lie? NEVER! haha
WOW!!
The lovely Ms. Stephanie Abrams is in Galveston.
Yummy - please tell me he doesn't stand outside during hurricanes.
Hmm.....I never thought of that before -- do you think he's their model. :-)
When Joe speaks everybody listens, especially those in State College.
How about EeeeRan?
I'll never forget him saying that!
The Texas Medical Center got wasted in TS Allison. They are totally ready, in fact, we all watched with horror as NO went through the same things we went through in 2001.
All ground floor entrances now have flood doors for one thing, plus generators are mostly above ground level, to answer specific question. Battery powered IV and emergency lighting have been checked and replaced as needed, that was a huge problem. Picksys (automated medication dispensing) machines are either bypassed or set for manual operation. These are all lessons learned. Too bad NO didn't learn from our mistakes. I'm sure we offered the information.
Ft. Bend, Liberty, Harris, Jefferson county HEB food stores will close by 5pm today.
All Krogers in the strike zone will also be closing at 5pm today.
***
In unrelated news, looks like I have to go out and buy a new sling for my Saiga, and I really wish I'd bought more magazines now...
Smart!
Brains and beauty; what a combo ;-)
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